California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Montgomery v. Board of Retirement, 109 Cal.Rptr. 181, 33 Cal.App.3d 447 (Cal. App. 1973):
'Here not only is it apparent that appellant's declared ineligibility for benefits derives solely from the practice of her religion, but the pressure upon her to forego that practice is unmistakable. The ruling forces her to choose between following the precepts of her religion and forfeiting benefits, on the one hand, and abandoning one of the precepts of her religion in order to accept work, on the other hand. Governmental imposition of such a choice puts the same kind of burden upon the free exercise of religion as would a fine imposed against appellant for her Saturday worship.' (Sherbert v. Verner, Supra, 374 U.S. at p. 404, 83 S.Ct. at p. 1794.)
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